People tend to forget that Ronald Reagan often gave ground on policy substance -- most notably, he ended up enacting multiple tax increases. But he never, ever, wavered on ideas; he never backed down from the position that his ideology was right and his opponents were wrong.
President Obama, by contrast, has consistently tried to reach across the aisle by lending cover to right-wing myths. He praised Reagan for restoring American dynamism -- and when was the last time you heard a Republican praising F.D.R.? Obama even adopted G.O.P. rhetoric about the need for the government to tighten its belt, even in the face of recession. He went so far as to offer (symbolic) freezes on spending and federal wages, for godsake.
Quite incredibly, however, none of this stopped the right from denouncing him as a socialist! And it helped empower bad ideas, zombie ideas, in ways that did immediate harm.
Right now Mr. Obama is hailing the tax-cut deal as "a boost to the economy," but Republicans, soon to take control of the House, are already talking about spending cuts -- Social Security, Medicare? -- that would offset any positive effects from the tax cut deal. And how effectively will Obama be able to oppose these demands of theirs, after he himself has embraced the rhetoric of belt-tightening?
It's one thing to make deals to advance your goals; it's quite another to open the door to zombie ideas. When you do that, the zombies end up eating your brain -- and quite possibly your economy too.
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